Acoustic Noise and Vibration near Railway Lines. · Acoustic Noise and Vibration near ... Ground-borne noise from rail operations can be generated when ground-borne ... BS 6472-1:2008

ACOUSTIC NOISE & VIBRATION SOLUTIONS P/L Suite 603, Level 6 Compass Centre Bankstown, NSW 2200 ABN: 37 169 392 456

Phone: 9793 1393 Fax: 9708 3113

Acoustic Noise and Vibration near

Railway Lines.

For Proposed Development at

No. 33-36 Loftus Cres, Homebush

Prepared By: Domeniki Tsagaris(M.I.E. Aust),B.E.(UNSW) Australian Acoustical Society (Sub).

Approved By: Moussa Zaioor (M.I.E. Aust), CPENG, Australian Acoustical Society (Member).

Date: August 5, 2016

Reference No.: 2016-400

Acoustic Report for No. 33-36 Loftus Crescent, Homebush


Prepared By: Acoustic Noise & Vibration Solutions Pty. Ltd.

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DOCUMENT CONTROL

Date Revision History Prepared By: Reviewed and

Authorised by:

18/07/2016 Initial Report Domeniki Tsagaris Moussa Zaioor

05/08/2016 Final Report Domeniki Tsagaris Moussa Zaioor




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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Document Control ........................................................................................................... 2

Table of Contents ............................................................................................................ 3 1.0 SCOPE OF WORK .................................................................................................. 4

2.0 ACOUSTICAL STUDY .......................................................................................... 4

2.1 Australian Standard 2107:2000 & Clause 87 of the SEPP ...................................... 5

3.0 NOISE SURVEY AND INSTRUMENTATION .................................................... 6

3.1 NOISE SURVEY RESULTS .................................................................................. 7

3.2 RAIL VIBRATION SURVEY............................................................................. 8 4.0 MECHANICAL PLANT & EQUIPMENT ............................................................. 8

4.1 MECHANICAL VENTILATION FOR RESIDENTIAL UNITS .......................... 9

5.0 RECOMMENDATIONS ....................................................................................... 10

5.1 WINDOWS/SLIDERS, DOORS, EXTERNAL WALLS & ROOF ..................... 10

6.0 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION ................................................................... 11

7.0 APPENDIX ............................................................................................................ 12




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1.0 SCOPE OF WORK

The aim of this report is to determine the building materials to be used and the

construction methods to be adopted such that the proposed development at No. 33-36

Loftus Crescent, Homebush is built to achieve acceptable noise levels as per Council

Requirements.

Noise intrusion levels are to be within the limits adopted by Clause 87 of the State

Environmental Planning Policy – (Infrastructure) 2007 such that all habitable rooms in

the proposed development shall be designed to limit internal noise levels. Calculations

are to be carried out in accordance with Australian Standards AS 2107 ‘Acoustics –

Recommended Design Sound Levels and Reverberation Times’.

The architectural plans by Urban Link Architecture dated the 19th July, 2016 are for the

proposed construction of residential flat building comprising of an eight (8) storey

building and four (4) storey building, including two (2) levels of basement parking. The

property is located on Loftus Crescent in the suburb of Homebush (Figure 1 – Site

Location) and is bound by Loftus Lane to the rear, with the railway corridor located 20

meters south of the site.

2.0 ACOUSTICAL STUDY

The proposed development is to comply with the Department of Planning’s document

titled “Development Near Rail Corridors and Busy Roads – Interim Guidelines”.

The noise criteria for residential buildings in Table 2.1 for both road and rail are specified

in the Infrastructure SEPP. Other values in Table 3.1 are based on the Environmental

Criteria for Road and Traffic Noise (EPA1999).

Table 2.1 - Noise Criteria

Residential Buildings

Type of occupancy

Noise Level

dBA

Applicable time

period

Sleeping areas (bedroom) 35

Night 10 pm to 7

am

Other habitable rooms (excl. garages,

kitchens, bathrooms & hallways) 40 At any time

Section 3.6.2 – Ground-borne Noise of the above mentioned standard states that

residential buildings should be designed such that the 95th percentile of train pass-bys

complies with the rail noise criterion for day and night time periods as below.




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daytime period indoor rail noise levels for sleeping and living areas is an LAmax

limit of 40dB(A).

Night time period indoor noise levels for living and sleeping areas is an LAmax

limit 35dB(A).

Ground borne noise is calculated as LAmax (slow) which refers to the maximum noise

level not exceeded for 95% of rail pass-by events and is measured using the ‘slow’

response setting on a sound-level meter.

Ground-borne noise from rail operations can be generated when ground-borne vibration

produced by a rail vehicle pass-by is re-radiated as noise inside a building by the building

structure. The causes of ground-borne noise from rail operations are therefore the same as

those of ground-borne vibration.

In our situation ground-borne noise is not normally noticeable as it is at a much lower

level than the level of air-borne noise from rail pass-bys. Ground-borne noise may cause

annoyance when there is no significant air-borne noise affecting a residence, such as

where noise sensitive receivers are located above underground railways or in a mixed-use

building integrating rail infrastructure.

In addition floor vibration levels in habitable rooms should comply with the criteria in

British standard BS6472-1:2008 Evaluation of Human Exposure to Vibration in

Buildings (1Hz to 80 Hz).

Further, when windows and doors are left open, indoor sound levels should not exceed

the nominated noise criteria by more than 10 dB(A). If noise levels exceed the nominated

rail noise criteria by more than 10 dB(A), then the provision of mechanical ventilation

should be incorporated in the design of the building.

2.1 Australian Standard 2107:2000 & Clause 87 of the SEPP

It is usual practice, when we find it necessary to recommend internal sound levels in

buildings to refer to Australian/New Zealand Standard AS/NZS 2107:2000 “Acoustics –

Recommended Design Sound Levels and Reverberations times for Building Interiors”.

This standard provides recommended noise levels for steady state such as noise from

building services and quasi-steady state sounds, such as traffic and rail noise. The noise

levels recommended in AS/NZS 2107:2000 take into account the function of the area and

apply to the sound level measured within the space unoccupied although ready for

occupancy.




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The standard recommends the following noise levels for residential buildings.

AUSTRALIAN STANDARD AS/NZS 2107:2000 RECOMMENDED DESIGN NOISE LEVELS, LAeq

Type of occupancy Recommended Design Sound Level

Activity Satisfactory Maximum

Houses in areas with negligible transportation

Sleeping Areas 25 35

Houses and Apartments near minor roads

Living Areas 30 40


Work Areas 35 40

Apartment common areas (e.g. foyer, lift lobby) 45 55

Houses and Apartments near major roads

Living Areas 35 45


Work Areas 35 45

Apartment common areas (e.g. foyer, lift lobby) 45 55

Similarly, Clause 87 of the SEPP states that where the development is for residential use

and is located in or adjacent to a rail corridor, a consent authority must not grant consent

unless it is satisfied that appropriate measures will be taken to ensure that the following

LAeq levels are not exceeded:

- in any bedroom in the building – 35dB(A) at any time between 10.00p.m. and

7.00a.m.

- anywhere else in the building (other than a garage, kitchen, bathroom or hallway) –

40dB(A) at any time.

3.0 NOISE SURVEY AND INSTRUMENTATION

On the 28th July, 2016, Acoustic Solutions attended the above address to carry out

acoustic measurements near the front proposed building line (Figure 2 – Noise Reading

Location). The measurement procedure and the equipment used for the noise survey are

described below. All sound pressure levels are rounded to the nearest whole decibel.

All sound level measurements and analysis carried throughout this report are carried with

Svantek 957 Noise and vibration level meter which has the following features:

Type 1 sound level measurements meeting IEC 61672:2002

General vibration measurements (acceleration, velocity and displacement) and

HVM meeting ISO 8041:2005 standard

Three parallel independent profiles

1/1 and 1/3 octave real time analysis

Acoustic dose meter function

FFT real time analysis (1920 lines in up to 22.4 kHz band)




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Reverberation Time measurements (RT 60)

Advanced Data Logger including spectra logging

USB Memory Stick providing almost unlimited logging capacity

Time domain signal recording

Advanced trigger and alarm functions

USB 1.1 Host & Client interfaces (real time PC “front end” application

supported)

RS 232 and IrDA interfaces

Modbus protocol

In addition to freight trains, the railway corridor services the Inner West & South Line

only. A conservative representation of determining LAeq is to record readings during

peak hours, mainly 8:00- 9:00 am / 6:00-7:00 am (Mainly Passengers) & 10:00 p.m -

2:00 a.m (Mainly Freight).

Another method is to carry readings for pass-by trains recording the duration, and LAeq

of each pass–by. To calculate the LAeq,T for a period based on measurements of all pass-

bys during that period then the following equation is used:

LAeq,T = 10 x 𝑙𝑜𝑔10 (∑ 𝑝𝑖 ×100.1×𝐿𝑖

𝑇𝑃)

Where:

pi is the duration of each pass-by, in seconds

Li is the LAeq noise level of the pass-by over that duration

Tp is the duration of the total assessment period (T) in seconds

3.1 NOISE SURVEY RESULTS

Noise levels were measured at the front building line of the proposed development

between 8.00 am and 9.00 am to determine a conservative sample of the LAeq, 1 hour

(daytime) and between 10:00pm and 2:00am to determine a conservative sample of the

LAeq, 1 hour (nighttime). There were 22 predominately commuter train pass-by

movements during the daily hour and 14 during the night hours. Each train pass-by was

generally audible for up to 40 seconds. The external rail noise levels are listed below.

Table 3.1.1 - Rail Noise Survey Results, Noise Criteria and Noise Reduction Required

LAeq dB(A), 7:00am – 10:00pm

(Conservative Sample)

LAeq dB(A), 10:00pm – 7:00am

(Conservative Sample)

Outdoor

Rail Noise

Noise

Criteria

Noise

Reduction

Outdoor

Rail Noise

Noise

Criteria

Noise

Reduction

61 40.0 20 53 35.0 18




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3.2 RAIL VIBRATION SURVEY

The floor vibration levels in habitable rooms should comply with the criteria in British

Standard BS 6472-1:2008 Guide to Evaluation of Human Exposure to Vibration in

Buildings (1 to 8 Hertz). The proposed development is to be located approximately 20

metres away from the corridor rail line. BS 6472-1:2008 considers the eVDV levels for

daytime and night time. The probability of adverse effects will be low when the eVDV is

less than 0.4 during the daytime and less than 0.24 for the night time periods.

The calculated eVDV found to be 0.2 during the daytime and 0.13 during the night time.

During these train movements, ground vibration levels were only just noticeable to the

touch of the palm of the hand. The palm of the hand can perceive ground vibrations as

low as 0.3mm/s. Based on the survey results, vibration levels are well within the low

probability of adverse effects. Any vibration emission will not cause building damage to

the proposed development.

Calculations are as follows:

eVDV = 1.4 × a rms × t 0.25

a rms = weighted rms acceleration of train (m/s2); average = 14mm/sec2= 0.014m/sec2.

(varies between 13 & 15 mm/sec2)

t in sec= total cumulative time of the vibration; say an average of 22 train passes per

hour for 12 hrs (1day) & each train pass is felt for 40 seconds.

Thus t = 22*40*12=10560 secs.

eVDV (day) = 1.4 × 0.014 × (10560) 0.25

eVDV (day) = 0.2 < 0.4 Ok.

Similarly eVDV for night time (say 4 train passes per hour for 12 hrs & each train pass is

felt for 40 seconds)

eVDV (night) = 0.13 < 0.24 therefore Ok.

4.0 MECHANICAL PLANT & EQUIPMENT

The proposed development at No. 33-36 Loftus Crescent, Homebush will include various

mechanical plant & equipment including mechanical ventilation systems for the

residential units & basement car park exhaust fans.

The two (2) levels of basement parking for the proposed development are located below

ground level and that makes providing natural ventilation not possible and a mechanical

extract system should be used. The mechanical ventilation system needs to achieve six air

changes per hour for exhaust fume extract and ten air changes per hour for smoke

clearance.




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The noise from proposed mechanical plant is governed under Section 2.1 of the NSW

Industrial Noise policy. Noise intrusion from the mechanical plant & equipment is

generally considered acceptable if the weighted level of noise from the source measured

over a 15 minutes interval does not exceed the rating background noise level (RBL) by

more than 5dB at the boundary of the nearest residential receiver (No. 32 & 37 Loftus

Crescent, Homebush).

LAeq,15 minutes < rating background level + 5

Section 3.1 of the above policy defines the background level as LA90,15 minutes which is the

Noise exceeded 90% percent of a time period over which annoyance reactions may occur

(taken to be 15 minutes). The RBL is defined as the overall single-figure LA90,15 minutes

background level representing each assessment period (day/evening/night) over the

whole monitoring period. Background noise levels in the area are governed by rail noise

from the adjacent railway corridor and traffic noise from Loftus Crescent.

4.1 MECHANICAL VENTILATION FOR RESIDENTIAL UNITS

To achieve the indoor design sound levels required to habitable areas, it is assumed that

the windows and doors are closed to avoid noise intrusion. Habitable Areas should not

exceed 40 dB(A) during day the while bedrooms are not to exceed 35 dB(A) during the

night.

Windows openable by 20% cause a 10 dB(A) reduction between the internal and external

noise levels. The “Development near Rail Corridors and Busy Roads – Interim

Guideline” page 19, Section 3.6.1 states that “If internal noise levels with windows or

doors open exceed the criteria by more than 10 dB(A), the design of the ventilation for

these rooms should be such that occupants can leave windows closed, and also to meet

the ventilation requirements of the Building Code of Australia.”

Applying the above for the proposed development, an open window during the day time

gives an internal level (LAeq, 1 hour) of 51 dBA (i.e. 61 dBA – 10dB). This exceeds the

day criterion of 50 dBA (i.e. 40 dBA + 10dB) as stated above. The night time criterion of

45 dBA (i.e. 35 dBA + 10 dB) will also be exceeded.

Therefore, we recommend that mechanical ventilation is required for all residential units

facing the railway line for the proposed development at No. 33-36 Loftus Crescent,

Homebush.




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Specific ventilation requirements are outside of our scope of expertise; however an

acoustically insulated building must be kept virtually air tight to exclude external noise.

Therefore mechanical ventilation, noise absorbing ventilators or air-conditioning are

needed to provide fresh air and to control odours.

Requirements for ventilation are given in the Building Code of Australia (BCA) under

Section 3.8.5. Indoor air quality is given in Australian Standard AS 1668.2 - 2002, “The

use of ventilation and air-conditioning in buildings - Ventilation design for indoor air

contaminant control”. The following are typical ways to achieve ventilation through the

property with windows closed:

1. Ducted Air-Conditioning System where the Fan Coil Units provide outside air

mixed with the return air is always considered as a first option. Ductwork and

plenums must be acoustically treated.

2. A device similar/equivalent to the Aeropac Room Ventilator and Air-Filter is

fitted to the required rooms.

3. Silenceair external wall vents, together with upgraded toilet and laundry fans to

provide forced flow-through ventilation. The fans in this case must be operating

whenever external doors/windows are closed (available from

www.silenceair.com)

4. Fresh air fan system to draw air from the façade with no view of the rail line into

the residence could also be used.

5.0 RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 WINDOWS/SLIDERS, DOORS, EXTERNAL WALLS & ROOF

Building Component Rw

Rating

Achieved

Windows & Sliders in Living/Dining/Kitchen and Bedroom Areas of Units

facing the Railway Line are to be 10mm laminated type with full perimeter Schlegel

Q-Lon acoustic seals (Ph: 8707-2000)(1)

33-36

Windows & Sliders in Living/Dining/Kitchen and Bedroom Areas of all other

Units are to be 6mm laminated type with full perimeter Schlegel Q-Lon acoustic

seals (Ph: 8707-2000)(1)

30-32

Windows in all other Areas (Bathrooms/Laundries etc) are unrestricted and to be

in accordance with AS 2047 (Windows in Buildings). (1) -

External Doors to be Solid Core 42mm thick, soft plastic gasket around sides, top

& drop seal at base or any other combination having an STC of minimum 30. (2) 30-33

External Walls are to be Double skin cavity brick walls minimum 270/250 mm

double brick/brick veneer construction or any other method of wall construction

with an Rw of 44.

44




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Roofing is to be minimum 150mm Concrete Roof AND/OR Galvanised Steel

Trough Roofing (0.5mm), on 10mm gypsum plaster board ceiling with 300mm gaps

& 50mm thick, 15kg/m³ mineral wool batts between ceiling joists.(2)

36-40

NB: This report is to be read in conjunction with the BASIX certificate and any other related building

specification. (1). No weep holes in windows/sliders. All gaps between window & door frames and the masonry

walls are to be sealed using acoustic foam Hilti CP620 or similar. Glass wool batts can be applied prior to the

application of the foam to seal larger gaps.(2)All gaps are to be acoustically sealed.

6.0 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

The proposed development at No. 33-36 Loftus Crescent, Homebush; if carried out as

recommended in plans and specifications and including the acoustic recommendations in

this report, will meet the required noise reduction levels as required by Clause 87 of the

State Environmental Planning Policy – (Infrastructure) 2007, NSW Department of

Planning’s ‘Development near Rail Corridors and Busy Roads – Interim Guideline’ and

Council Conditions/Requirements.

Should you require further explanations, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Yours Sincerely,

M. Zaioor

M.S. Eng’g Sci. (UNSW).

M.I.E.(Aust), CPEng

Australian Acoustical Society (Member)




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7.0 APPENDIX

Figure 1 – Site Location .................................................................................................... 13

Figure 2 - Noise Reading Location ................................................................................... 14




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Figure 1 – Site Location




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Figure 2 - Noise Reading Location

Point A - Noise

Reading Location

Documents

Acoustic Noise and Vibration near Railway Lines. · Acoustic Noise and Vibration near ... Ground-borne noise from rail operations can be generated when ground-borne ... BS 6472-1:2008